Ridwell, a Seattle-based recycling company, has expanded its home-pick up service to Denver, collecting items like plastic bags, batteries, burnt-out light bulbs and even old children’s books that don’t fit into a traditional curbside program. 

While many of these items can be dropped off at various locations across the city, Ridwell is offering an alternative: A monthly subscription-based service that will pick up the piles of recyclable goods and reusable items from your doorstep.

“We make it really simple for you to waste less and that’s important for both the environment and your community around you,” Founder and CEO Ryan Metzger said.

Each item will be delivered to recyclers or places that can reuse them such as local non-profits or community organizations for items such as books or used clothes, Metzger said. 

“We’re really looking for ways to reuse these items and if we can’t find something we’re looking for there are recyclers that will keep things from landfills and turn them into new items,” Metzger said. 

Ridwell’s subscriptions range between $12 and $16 per month and include biweekly pickups and provide each member with a bin and reusable canvas bags to separate plastic films, batteries, lightbulbs and threads (clothes and shoes).

Additionally, there is a “rotating category” that changes each pick up and can range from children’s books to toys. 

Metzger said expanding to Denver was a “no brainer” because it’s “very outdoors focused” like cities across Oregon and Washington where the company is already active.

“People that enjoy hiking and being out in nature are typically the ones who want to make less waste, but it’s also a very community minded place ” Metzger said. “I think community plus outdoors are a big reason why (we came to Denver), and it’s been a real natural fit.”

Since launching in early July, over 600 Denverites have signed up for Ridwell. It has over 35,000 members across multiple states. To date, Ridwell has saved over 2 million pounds of waste from landfills.  

Currently, Ridwell is available in only a handful of Denver’s neighborhoods such as Cherry Creek, Washington Park and Capitol Hill. However, services will expand across the city within the coming months and into the suburbs later in the fall, Metzger said. 

“We want to give people the chance to reduce waste in landfills and so we hope to be able to give all Denverites this opportunity within the next month or so,” Metzger said.

For more information about Ridwell head to www.ridwell.com or click here.